I made a Thinglink to summarize and extend the ideas presented in Chapter 5 about the Classroom Checkup (CCU) model.
The authors stress the importance of multiple classroom observations after the intervention for performance feedback (to check if the desired performance levels have been attained) and to see if disruptive behaviour has decreased.
The CCU is a model that coaches can use in working with teachers. To be effective at creating change in a school, the coach must work with other leaders to remove barriers to change. Clear communication, shared vision, and the use of data to back up claims will help create an environment that is supportive of change with a good relationship between participants. Clear communication is especially important to make sure that the relationship remains one of partnership, and support.
As I complete this chapter, I can see the importance of classroom management coaching. It’s an area where teachers are often expected to learn on the job. A new teacher may not be aware of the options for positive classroom management, and could build his skills and cognition of the concept through coaching. As a new teacher 12 years ago, I could have benefited from coaching in this area, and I’ve had many conversations with new teachers struggling to manage their classrooms. Yes, there are books and other content available to teachers but teachers can often be overwhelmed, and may benefit from additional support. Out of the models presented, I like the CCU, but modeling is not presented as a component. I think that teachers can build different types of understanding from reading, observation, action, and am curious how to integrate modeling into the CCU. However, in the stages of coaching, I wondered how the coach decides which techniques to model. Is it more beneficial for modeling to happen after exploring the data or before? Can modeling serve different purposes if done before and after teacher observation? I think that it may be most useful to model the chosen intervention, which is decided upon exploration of the data, but I think that the coach has to be careful to present her teaching as one style, rather than the only style, for implementing the chosen intervention.
This post is part of a larger series based on the book Coaching Approaches & Perspectives edited by Jim Knight. This post is based on sections of Chapter 5: Classroom Management. Visit the Coaching category for other related posts.
Book Citation: Knight, J. (Ed.). (2008). Coaching: Approaches and perspectives. Corwin Press.